Rival, Friend and Lover
by Frog-Jo
Summary: A story of Near and Mello's days in Wammys house and of how they're mutual feelings brought them together. Set just before L's death. NEAR X MELLO.
1. The Joy of Maths Class

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note and I could never in a million years imagine owning it.

A/N: This is a Mello x Near story so if you don't like this kind of stuff or the pairing please watch out. You've been warned. For the rest of you….Enjoy.

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><p><span>Rival, Friend and Lover<span>

Chapter 1

Near sighed as the last domino fell over at e exactly the same time as the school bell rang to indicate that it was the end of break time and the start of a long dull afternoon of lessons. Near picked up his ugly green maths book off the shelf in the library and wiped the thin layer of dust forming on the book away. "Great" He thought as he slipped his bare feet into a pair of muddy trainers that were falling apart, He'd just remembered the new seating arangement in maths class and it turned out that Mello would be sitting on his left this year and Matt on his right. After walking along seemingly endless amounts of corridors Near arrived in the Maths room where he sat in the deead center of the class with two rows in front and behind and two people seated on either side of him.

It came to Near's attention after five minutes in maths class that for one, algebra was easy but number two, that Mello was staring at him with dark brown eyes that appeared to be eyeing a profile vie of Near's white haired head. After a short while Near became increasingly uncomfortable under the narrowed gaze of Mello so he turned to Mello but instead of the carried on glare that he expected the only response from Mello was a pink blush that spread across the cheeks of the blond and then he turned away seemingly embarrassed. Near couldn't think of what could possibly affect Mello in that way but after looking to his right and considering feelings he himself truly didn't understand, Near could only conclude one thing.

Mello must like Matt in that kind of way.

After coming to this conclusion Near allowed himself to breath out in a sigh because he knew that he was now stuck in the middle of this and he truly doubted the amount of knowledge he would gain in maths classes from then on! But on the other hand their was a feeling that he couldn't understand or describe, a feeling in his gut that he ignored at that point in time. Was it Jealousy? He shrugged that thought away as he liked to base his knowledge of facts rather than gut instinct but he couldn't shake the feeling of jealously because of the weird dream he'd had a few nights ago. It made him blush at the very thought of it and he felt like he was on fire. Near began to relive the dream in his head like an old black and white movie and he could almost feel Mello's touch on his cheek as he dragged him in for a deep kiss with some tongue on the side!

He was finally snapped out of his daydreaming session by the rather angry teacher who had just missed his head with a board eraser and the shouts of laughter from his less intelligent peers who for some reason that Near couldn't quite understand found his reaction of shock quite amusing. However much to his benefit he did manage to steal a few glances at Mello's face whilst he had his head down working which seemed to deepen the pit inside Near's lonely heart as he longed for the touch of Mello's soft hands and lips. When the bell rang to finally announce the end of the lesson Near was truly glad but at the same time quite disappointed to leave the blond haired boy sitting next to him however after deciding to actually show up on time for English on that day he left the classroom very slowly with a few backward glances.

Mello watched Near leave through the corner of his eyes and the blush that had been faintly spread out on his cheeks all lesson finally died down as his heart rate also slowed back to normal. He allowed himself to breath out because of the relief although there seemed to be something in his head saying to him that Near had indeed seen the wide blush across his face and that maybe Near had been hinted towards the truth of his affections. Mello remembered Near's face and then inwardly cursed his emotions, he just didn't want Near to find out about his hidden love for him because he was too embarrassed about them to speak to somebody. As soon as he planned out what he would say to Near it all fell apart when Mello imagined what Matt or any of the other kids would do if they found out he was gay. To make it worse it was Near of all people He cursed himself again knowing that Near would never love him back.

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><p>AN: Finally found the time to write the start of this multi chapter story I've been planning for a while now. Oh yeah I just wanted to say that this story is set just before L's death so Near and Mello are aged about 14 in this story. I hope you liked it and thanks for reading please remember to review to give me the motivation to write more!


	2. Puppets and Pens

Disclaimer: I don't actually own death note. True story.

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><p>Near sat back in his chair that was located at the back of the library as he felt the smooth newly made plastic beneath his fingers when he touched his newly made puppet that resembled Mello right down to the scowl he sometimes wore. Near combed his own white curly hair out of his eyes as he wondered what had possessed him to create the puppet in the first place. It was a few months ago to be exact and Near seemed to recall a burning loneliness during Mello's absences from the school, so he'd created a mini replica of the blond haired teen to keep him company through the long two weeks. For some reason he'd vowed to discard the puppet when Mello returned however he felt emotionally attached and could never quite let the puppet slip off his person for the last two months. Some may call it an obsession but Near could never quite really grasp the concept of this.<p>

After the final bell of the day Mello had got up promptly and began walking down the corridors briskly to make sure that Matt wouldn't have a chance of catching up to him when his input wasn't needed. Mello pulled off the leather glove on his hand to reveal a four letter word inked onto his palm with a thick black pen making it appear prominently. He roughly pushed the creaking door of the library open using his elbow and peered into the library, after confirming that it was empty but by the time he'd got halfway across the library he saw a boy in the corner who was curling his mop of white hair with his finger as if he believed that he could make it straighten out.

"Near." He said out loud, drawing attention to himself.

"Mello. What are you doing here." Near replied as he continued to stare at the blank computer screen.

Mello could have sworn that he'd seen Near slip something yellow and black into his pocket but he couldn't be sure as his senses were being thrown off by just looking at Near's pale face and mysterious dark eyes. It seemed like he'd finally got the attention of the dark onyx eyes as they were now staring intently at him willing him to say something more.

"Um.."

"Mello you like Matt don't you?" Near interrupted

"Well um I'm friends with Matt if that's what you mean." stuttered Mello although he knew exactly what Near meant in this context.

"I'm asking if you like him in that kind of way."

"No, no I don't." replied Mello as he returned to his over confident tone.

"Then why do you keep staring at him in maths class." Near replied sharply as if no detail would slip from his ever watchful gaze.

"What. I…" Mello began as he tried to pointlessly deny the statement which Near had laid on the table.

"Near….." The curly haired boy whispered.

"What're you talking about?" Mello asked questioningly with a hint of shock in his voice.

"You should know. It's written on your hand Mello."

Mello gasped slightly as he looked down to his hand and realised the prominent mark on his hand was looking up at him and he looked at it as if he'd just given away important advice on a crime scene. His narrow eyes looked up to meet Nears puzzled gaze.

"Yeah it was to remind me to talk to you, I wanted to ask you something actually." Mello said as a small smile formed on his lips.

He put his hand on Near's head and ruffled his hair making it slick up even more than it already did. Mello turned to leave silently but as he reached the door Near stood up and spoke from the other side of the room.

"What did you want to ask me Mello."

"Oh it was nothing."

As Mello reached for the door handle Near threw the puppet made from rubber and fabric at Mello. He only just caught it in time and Mello was about to say something back to Near when he realised it probably would be best if he left the boy who was once again staring in space plus the fact as Mello walked out of the door he reasoned that the situation was already awkward enough by that point.

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><p>AN: Well here is the next chapter of the story, I hope you people enjoyed it! Thanks for reading and please take the time to review because believe it or not coffee isn't the only thing that gives me the motivation to continue (I don't actually like coffee though...).


	3. Failing Friendship

Disclaimer:I don't own Death Note.

Rival, Friend and Lover Chapter 3

Mello winced slightly as he received another blast from Roger's voice. It wasn't exactly his own fault that he was failing in maths, for he was clearly a genius in all fields, but Near's fault instead. Mello felt himself shuffle slightly as Roger began to spit the last few lines of his lecture because he knew that this little mistake may trigger the maths teacher to move Mello's seat in his lesson even if he knew Mello had become rather attached to the curly haired teen sitting next to him. After Mello was dismissed he paced along the corridors aimlessly going in different directions because class had finished for the day and he didn't particularly fancy talking to Matt because of a few previous questions from him about his failing in maths but also the questions about the moments where he drifted off into a daydream about that white haired boy with the dark eyes and shy but evil smile.

It was after dinner the next day when Mello stepped out onto the hockey pitch under the twilight sky that hung above Wammys House like a protective shield in the sky. Looking over to the other side of the wide court Mello caught a glimpse of the figure of his red haired best friend who was kissing a girl tenderly as if she really meant a lot to him. Mello felt transfixed by the sight and it was as if his legs had become glued to the floor and his eyes had been fixed on the vision of Matt and the pretty young girl. He watched silently as the girl walked away giving Matt a shy wave and a blown kiss in the red heads directon.

It made Mello feel as if he was unnatrual. Abnormal.

A few moments passed before Matt had snapped out of the daze he'd fallen into because of the girl and he finally noticed Mello standing on the other side of the court behind he railings, clearly deep in thought. Matt waved to his friend and began to walk across the court quickly even though he could sense a distraction in Mello's behaviour. As he got closer he felt worry rise up in his stomach on seeing the unfamiliar expression on his friends face which was a cross between jealousy and helplessness.

"You alright mate?" Matt said cooly; leaning against the railings next to Mello.

"Who was that...?" asked Mello distantly as he looked at the setting sun.

"Oh just a girl... She's in my music class."

"How romantic..."

"What's wrong with you?" Matt cried dramatic as he grabbed Mello's collar, forcing the blond to look at him directly.

But still Mello tried to avoid the gaze by looking at the floor and giving a half-assed reply. "I'm just tierd..."

"Whats been wrong with you lately? I heard from Roger that you're failing in maths and everything it's like you lost the will to carry on all of a sudden and right now you're acting like some undead zombie with no reason to live!"

Matt felt himself scowl slightly, although it was true he didn't want to get into a fight with his best friend he also couldn't bear the way that Mello had been avoiding him lately and even if they did get to talk Mello would zone out like he was on another planet in his mind. After getting no responese to his overly dramatic statment Matt turned to leave.

"Some friend you turned out to be..." muttered the red head as he departed from the court.

As soon as Matt was gone Mello sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose like he was willing he painful headache away just by wishing for it to leave him. He knew that Matt was right because however crazily the boy with goggles explained things they were always right. He had the gift neither Mello or Near had which was that he could understand people's feelings. Mello was snapped out of his trance by the light pitter patter of rain as it fell across the deserted sports ground it certainly got Mello's attention for he hated the rain and he made hasty plans to get inside as quickly as possible.

He dried of his soaked long locks of hair just outside the dorms where the towels were kept. He asumed that Matt would already be back inside the dorm so he felt slightly uncomfortable about going in there but he just thanked the heavens above that Near wasn't a resident in the blue dorm. He kept thinking about Near all the time and his failing in maths was due to the thoughts that plagued his mind when in his dream boy's presence it was as if he heard the voice all the time: in every waking hour aand some sleeping ones too.

"What are you doing Mello?"

It was Near.

Mello turned quickly simply on a reflex.

"Oh! Near!" He said unevenly as the smaller boy drew closer.

Near was getting closer and he'd passed Mello's comfort zone for sure. He stepped up and grabbed Mello's chin drawing it closer to his face until they were only a couple of centimetres apart.

"Now tell me about your failing in maths Mello."

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><p>AN: Just logged on Yesterday and realised that I hadn't updated this story for a month. Sorry guys! I realise I make Wammys house more of a boarding school than an orphanage but I guess it is set in England so it sounds at least half realistic. Anyway here it is and I hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger as well. Please review and tell me what you think!


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